The government has received cumulative bids of Rs 940 billion after completing 31 rounds at the end of the fifth day of the ongoing spectrum auctions. The auctions will resume on March 10, 2015 for the unsold spectrum.
On the fifth day, aggressive bidding was witnessed both for the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum bands. The maximum bids were received for Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab circles in the 900 MHz band, while Odisha and Tamil Nadu circles saw maximum demand in the 1800 MHz band. In the 800 MHz spectrum band, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Northeast circles witnessed high bidding activity. Meanwhile, no bidding took place in the 2100 MHz spectrum band.
There are 29 licences in 18 service areas which will expire in 2015-16 and these licences constitute 184 MHz of spectrum in the 900 MHz band and 34.2 MHz in 1800 MHz band. Telecom operators will have to buy back spectrum if they have to continue offering mobile services in circles where their licences are due to expire.
